Big Boulder

Big Boulder is a fun and moderately easy singletrack near Downieville that is also popular for downhill mountain bikers. It drops over 1,500 feet in 3 miles from north to south. The trail has several wide and smooth switchbacks, including right away on the north end, and later on in the middle of the route. The majority of the trail is smooth dirt, but there are lots of small root ledges and ruts within the descent, and several shelfy and narrow sections with moderate exposure. The trail curves around the hillside on a shelf trail. There are intermittent, bigger boulders lining the trail that make it feel tighter, and a couple of moderate rock features that you have to ride over, including a section of loose rock and small sections of embedded bedrock. It connects directly to Third Divide and Butcher Ranch on the south end, making it easy to continue your ride. This trail is closed 1/1 – 3/31.